Major US banks to start new year working from home

Goldman Sachs said Sunday that it will join other major banks in encouraging employees in the U.S. to begin the new year working from home. 

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America have also asked staffers to work from home as the country endures a major uptick in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant. 

While Goldman Sachs employees will be urged to work from home until Jan. 18, offices will remain open with previously announced COVID-19 protocols in place including a vaccine requirement and mask mandate. Starting Feb. 1, boosters will also be required and bi-weekly testing will be implemented starting Jan. 10, according to Reuters. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co told its employees they could work from home for the first two weeks of January, though the company said they expected employees to return to the office no later than Feb. 1, according to Bloomberg. 

“We are not changing our long-term plans of working in the office,” JPMorgan said in a memo to staffers last week, per Bloomberg.

“However, with the increase in holiday travel and gatherings, we are allowing for more flexibility during the first two weeks of January to work from home (if your role allows) at your manager’s discretion,” the memo added.

Late last month, Citigroup also asked its employees to work from home for the first few weeks of the new year, Reuters noted.

Additionally, Bank of America has encouraged its employees to work from home the week of Jan. 3, Bloomberg reported.

The halt in plans to return to the office comes as the omicron variant fuels a nationwide uptick in COVID-19 cases.  

As of Dec. 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a weekly average of 277,242 new daily cases, marking a 71 percent increase from the previous week.